Handle construction for dispensing valves



oc so, 1951 B. MINOVITZ k Tiled July 8, 1949 Patented Oct. 30, 1951UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HANDLE CONSTRUCTION FOR DISPENSING VALVESBenjamin Minovitz, Hyattsville, Md.

Application July 8, 1949, Serial No. 103,654

I 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a handle construction for dispensing valvessuch as are used in the sale of beer and like beverages.

By way of background, it may be noted that beer to be dispensed ismaintained under a not inconsiderable amount of gaseous pressure, and aslong as the keg from which the beer is being dispensed is not exhausted,said pressure will of course permit a glass of beer to be drawn in anormal manner.

However, upon exhaustion of the beer in a particular keg, the gasmaintained under pressure will itself begin to move through thedispensing valve, mixed with droplets and other small quantities of suchbeer as remains. This is accompanied by a loud hissing sound, and thebartender is thus made immediately aware of the fact that the keg hasblown.

Throughout the trade, it is common practice, when this happens, toinvert an ordinary glass and position it over the dispensing valvehandle or knob. This, of course, is to provide the bartender and otherpersons working behind the bar with a reminder that no more beer shouldbe drawn through the particular dispensing. valve until a new keg istapped, at which time the glass is removed.

The inverted glass is, of course, only a makeshift signal or flag, atbest, and presents decided annoyance and inconvenience. For example, itis very common for the bartender to grasp, without thinking, theinverted glass time and again, on successive occasions when drawingglasses of beer.

It is an important object of the present invention, accordingly, toprovide a dispensing valve handle construction which will eliminate theannoying and inconvenient practice which heretofore has had to befollowed when a keg has blown. It is a further object to provide ahandle construction which will fulfill the purpose stated above, whileyet normally presenting to the casual observer the same outwardappearance as has heretofore been conventional.

Another object is to provide a handle as stated which, though equippedwith a signal means for the purpose described, will nevertheless befully capable of normal use during regular dispensing operations, thehandle presenting no obstructions or mechanism which would interferewith the bartenders normal dispensing of a glass of beer.

Still another object is to provide a handle construction as statedwherein said signal means will be built in, in a manner which will notinterfere with the necessary and obviously desirable brand markingcustomarily applied to said handle.

Still another object is to provide a device as stated which will be ofsimple construction and easy to use, so as to permit construction of thehandle at little or no increase in cost above the cost of manufacturinghandles that are not so equipped.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, part being shown in section, of oneform of handle constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1, the dotted lines indicatingpositions of a flag member and movement thereof to operative position.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the handle.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view.

Referring to the drawing in detail, in the illustrated example of myinvention, I have shown a dispensing valve handle which, as seen fromFigs. 1 and 3, is outwardly of wholly conventional appearance andconfiguration. Such a handle or knob is commonly formed with a body 5here illustrated as being of hemispherical shape and having rigidtherewith the projecting stem 6 formed with threaded recess 1 forattachment of the knob or handle to the operating rod, not shown, of aconventional beer tap or dispensing valve, also not shown.

The body 5 is equipped with means, here shown as comprising a grippingflange 8 integral with said body, for mounting upon the body of a coverpanel 9, the flange 8 in the present instance being crimped intogripping engagement with the periphery of said panel. Such a panel isconventionally lettered and/or pictorially illustrated to show the branddesignation of the beer being drawn from the particular dispensingvalve.

It is quite possible that the shape of the body 5 and of the panel 9,and the type of connecting means employed between the panel and body,might differ in one handle as compared to another. However, all handlesof this type have in common the fact that they include a-body which isan enlargement on the end of a connecting stem 6, said enlargement beingprovidedto facilitate the grasping of the handle by the bartender,

In accordance with the present invention I include in the handle or knobformation a flag means that normally does not interfere with the shapeor use of the handle, but which is operable to be extended from thehandle whenever appropriate, to signify the exhaustion of the keg withwhich the dispensing valve is associated. To this end, in theillustrated example, I form rigid with the inner surface of the body 5,and at the upper end of the body, the depending ear I formed with theopening l0. Said ear extends inwardly within the body 5, adjacent oneend of an elongated narrow slot ll formed in the body adjacent theflange 8 thereof, and parallel to said flange and to the panel 9 grippedby the flange. The slot II, as seen from Fig. 2, extend in the presentinstance through slightly more than half the circumference of the body5, one end of the slot being designated 12 and the other end beingdesignated [3. At the lower end [3 of the slot ll,the slot is widened todefine anotch l4 (Fig. 3)

Normally recessed entirely within the body 5,

but adapted to swing into and out'of the slot H,

is a flag l5 here shown as formed to a circular shape to correspond tothe general configuration of the body 5, said flag being fashioned inthe present instance from a thin blank of metal material. The flag canbe, and preferably is, marked with any suitable legend It to be visuallyobserved by the bartender when the flag is in the uppermost dotted lineposition illustrated in Fig. 2, the legend in the present instancereading Out and signifying that the particular dispensing valve isconnected to a keg of beer which has blown.

Formed in the flag I5 is an opening 'I 7 adapted to be placed inregister with the opening 15', rivet I8 or other suitable pivot memberextending through said openings for the purpose of pivotally connectingthe flag 15 to the ear ll) of the body 5.

In this connection, surrounding the rivet i8 is a cone spring 19, thatis interposed between the ear l8 and the flag 15, said cone spring I 9having one end projected as a finger through a small opening 2| formedin the ear Ii] adjacent the opening I'll thereof and having its otherend extending away from the rivet IS a suitable distance and outturnedto provide a finger '22 that is positioned in small opening 23 spacedfrom the opening ll of the flag 15.

The marginal portion of the flag member 15 disposed remote from itspivotal connection to the ear I8, is formed with an ofiset tongue Z ireceivable in the offset notch M of the slot II. In this connection, thecone spring I9 is compressed almost flat between the flag l5 and the ear[0, as readily seen from Fig. 1, so that tending to expand under thisaxial load, it normally presses the flag member l5 outwardly so as toretain the offset tongue 24 in engagement with the notch it. As aresult, the flag T5 is normally and releasably locked in its inoperativeor'recessed position shown in full lines in Fig. 2.

Assuming that a keg blows, the bartender,

to prevent anyone including himself from drawing from the tapthereafter, simply presses the tongue 24 out of the notch I'd. In otherwords, the bartender will pres thetongue 2t to the right in Figs. 1 or3.

As a result, the cone spring is now free to unwind, and flips the flag15 'to the uppermost dotted line position shown in Fig. 2. -'Ihe end 12of the slot, as will be seen, comprisesa stop limiting movement of theflag 15, so that the .flag in the present instance extends straightupwardly 4 from the knob, thus not only to be clearly seen by thebartender, but also to present an obstruction to the bartender hand ifhe inadvertently grasps the handle while his attention is distracted.

When a keg is tapped, the bartender simply grasps the flag I5 and returnit to its recessed position with the tongue 24 slipping into the notch14.

In its basic aspects, the invention is considered to reside in theprovision of a signal device built into the knob or handle of a beerdispensing valve and operable for movement to extreme positions in oneof which it constitutes a distinct projection signifying an exhaustedcondition of the keg, and in the other extreme position, presenting nointerference to normal use of the handle. Within the claims, it isthought that there are various ways in which the invention can becarried out, the illustrated construction comprising a presentlypreferred example. I believe, for example, that in some situations thedisplay panel 9 itself might be spring hinged to provide a signal flag.In other instances the flag [5 instead of being rotatably mounted aroundthe pivot, might be mounted for sliding reciprocating mcvement.

What i claimed is:

1. In a dispensing valve handle a body adapted for connection to theoperating rod of a dispensing valve, said body having a slot extendingthrough part of its circumference, a flag normally recessed Within thebody, a pivotal connection between one end of the flag and the body,said slot being widened at one end to provide a detaining notch, anoffset tongue on the flag receivable in said notch to hold the flag inits recessed position, and a cone spring engaged at opposite end withthe body and flag respectively and compressed between said body and flagto pres the flag in a direction to hold the tongue within the notch,said cone spring adapted, when the tongue is moved out of the notch, toswing the flag on its pivotal connection outwardly through the slot toprovide a projecting signal.

2. In a dispensing valve handle a body adapted for connection to theoperating rod of a dispensing valve, said body having an elongated slotextending through a substantial part of its circumference, a flagnormally recessed within the body and constituting a signal, a pivotalconnection between one end of the flag and the body, said slot having atone end a widened portion to provide a detent notch, a tongue on theflag normally received in said notch to hold the flag recessed wihin thebody, the other end of the slot providing" a stop limiting movement ofthe flag when the flag is swung to a position in which it extendsout ofthe body to provide a signal, and a cone spring wound around the pivotalconnection and normally compressed between the flag and body and heldunder tension, said cone spring being connected at opposite ends to thebody and flag respectively, whereby on movement by an operator of thetongue out of the notch, said spring will deflect the flag laterally andoutwardly through the slot to swing it to extended position, said springpressing against the recessed flag to normally hold the tongue engagedwithin the notch.

3. In a dispensing valve handle a body adapted .for connection to theoperating rod of a dispensing valve, said 'body having a slot formedwith a widened .portion to provide a detaining notch, a flag memberpivotally connected to the body to swing into and out of the slot, saidflag member being normally recessed within the slot, a projection on theflag member engageable with the notch in the recessed position of theflag member, and a coiled spring wound around the pivotal connection ofthe flag member to the body and engaged at opposite ends with the bodyand flag member, the convolutions of the spring being compressed betweenthe body and flag member to press the flag in a direction to hold theprojection normally engaged in the notch, said spring being undertension in the recessed position of the flag member, for swinging of theflag member outwardly through the slot on disengagement of theprojection.

BENJAMIN MINOVITZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

